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22 Sep 2011
The government is to speed up the dismantling of the failed £11bn NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT) after years of delays and spiralling costs.
A review by the Major Projects Authority said that the NPfIT had delivered some benefits, but that it should be shelved as soon as possible. The Department of Health (DoH) has confirmed that it will follow this plan.
"The NPfIT achieved much in terms of infrastructure and this will be maintained, along with national applications such as the Summary Care Record and Electronic Prescriptions Service, which are crucial to patient safety and efficiency," the DoH said.
"But we need to move on from a top down approach and instead provide information systems driven by local decision making. This is the only way to make sure we get value for money and that the modern NHS meets the needs of patients."
NHS chief executive David Nicholson added that giving control back to individuals at a local level will provide better care for patients.
"Restoring local control over decision making, and enabling greater choice for NHS organisations, is key as we continue to use the secure exchange of information to drive up quality and safety," he said.
V3 contacted the DoH for clarification on when the NPfIT will be ended, but was told that no information is yet available.
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letter in "The Times" Saturday 24th September
To the Editor of “The Times”. Sir, Fifty years ago I was involved in introducing IT systems. I have found no reason to change the view that I had then. Any system imposed top down by system designers or by a committee was bound to fail. The only way to succeed was to spend time with the prospective users, understanding their needs and, at the same time, ensuring their commitment to making the system work. This approach was objected to on the grounds that it was a waste of time. In fact time could not have been better spent. Without the interest and commitment of the end user, no system, however well designed in theory, will survive the inevitable complications and misunderstandings that arise. Yours Faithfully Jim Dukes
Posted by: Jim Dukes 24 Sep 2011
A desire for speed must not compromise data security
This programme has spent some time bringing together a significant amount of personal and sensitive personal information, this has undoubtedly resulted in aggregation, not just by accumulation, but also by association. It is absolutely vital that this programme is securely decommissioned, that all systems, storage media and other repositories are appropriately sanitised or destroyed (i wonder how much of the IT kit is earmarked for re-use and re-deployment?) Neither the programme, nor the wider NHS, has shown any real competence in the management, protection and secure disposal of information. Given the quantities and sensitivities that we are talking about here, it is absolutely vital that expert opinion is both sought AND taken to ensure that the risks of this information being compromised are adequately and effectively addressed. Let us all hope that the NHS and its technology partners do not fail to apply appropriate due diligence in this matter simply to ensure that the Government achieves its desire to be seen to be "ridding itself of Labour's failed projects" We have already seen £11bn spent on this programme to date, I am sure nobody will object to a little bit more being spent to ensure it is securely wound down.
Posted by: Mike Gillespie, Director, Advent IM 22 Sep 2011